Forevermore
by KaydenceRei
Summary: Post-Finale oneshot. What happened before they met up with everyone else? Sawyer/Juliet. Minor Sun/Jin involved. Season 6 Spoiler-mobile.


Shocker of the century, I know. I've returned shortly for this one-shot. Of course we can all assume it's post-finale and be correct about it. I notice I've gotten a lot of PM's about where I've been. It's complicated.. but, without further ado.

I now present:

**Forevermore:**

There she stood. Perfect skin, blue eyes that were the equivalent of the beauty of the ocean. Half naked as she got out of her lab coat and black dress. Now she was standing before him in an equally black bra and matching pair of panties. It seemed strange to realize anyone who walked in would think they were insane. In this life they didn't know each other, yet there was Juliet 'Carlson', half naked.

Carlson. Not Burke.

She had never married that smarmy, skirt chasing, cheating sonuvabitch in this life. She had a real office, in a real hospital and there was no research for her non-existent ex-husband to blackmail from her or steal. But did that mean-

"What about Rachel?" he dared to ask.

Juliet turned her head and took him in. The rugged police detective side of him. Ironically, it didn't seem all that different to his rugged con-man side. His hair, not quite as long as she remembered, yet still disheveled and perfectin his own certain way. She took in fully, 'Detective' James Ford. No Sawyer alias having ever been created so far as she could tell or assume.

For just a moment she was confused. Now clad in only a black bra and black skirt. But she understood then, what he was talking about. And she smiled. She smiled because he was kind enough to think of it at a time like this. "Cancer free," she assured him, stepping towards him and placing her hand gently on his cheek in gratitude. "She's living it up in toddler heaven on the beaches of Miami.." she added.

"Julian?" he dared to ask.

"Yessir," she responded proudly, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his shoulder.

He chuckled. "You know.. back in.. uh.. back in the.."

Her eyes softened. "Seventies," she finished for him. She could see the pain entering his eyes once more and just mentioning that decade made her stomach spin and give her slight nausea.

"Yea'.." he muttered. Suddenly he wasn't sure how to tell her what he desperately wanted to tell her. Instead of telling her about the engagement ring, about how he wanted to marry her, how he _still_ wanted to marry her.. he found different words coming from his lips. "It was all my fault.."

"What?" she questioned immediately. "James.." she muttered out, reaching her hands up and cupping his cheeks. "It wasn't.." but she couldn't finish before he started.

"If I hadn't.. you know.. then you wouldn't have gotten upset.. and-"

"James.."

"And you wouldn't have fallen.."

"James.. stop-"

"And then you wouldn't have duh-"

"Dammit! James _stop_!" she growled out, putting her hand over her mouth. "Listen to me, will you?" she said softly. "It wasn't your fault, it was _never_ your fault," she assured him. "I was the insecure one.. I was the one who shouted, pushed, ran.." she pointed out.

"But I-"

Juliet shook her head. "It doesn't matter, James.. it was.. it was a different life.."

He was silent for a moment, not entirely sure how he was supposed to take that response. "You.. don't want me in this life, do you?" he finally asked. "Now that we're home?"

"What?" was the immediate response. She felt it was her only response to the things he was suddenly throwing at her. "For God's sake.. James that isn't what I said!" she mumbled, running a hand through her hair in frustration. "It hasn't even been thirty minutes and we're already back to fighting!"

That silenced him immediately. For a few seconds, that felt like hours, neither of them spoke a word or even dared to look at each other. Then he came out with it. "I.. was going to propose."

She stared at him, blue eyes open wide. He had completely stunned her with the statement. Unfortunately, he also stunned the person who had opened the door to her office. Both her and James turned to stare at the intruder and when they saw it was Jack, she realized there was one important thing she'd neglected to tell James about _this_ life. About Jack.. and David. "Now isn't exactly a good time Jack.." she stated.

It was one of the few times she'd used his name recently. When speaking to David she would say 'your father' and when she'd see him around the hospital she would jokingly call him 'Doctor'.

"So I noticed.. I thought we were going to pick David up from the concert."

"It's just, I heard you tell someone to stop.. and you're sort of.. well.. and we were supposed to-"

"Jack, what don't you understand about '_it's not a good time right now_'? Would you please, _please_, just leave and go without me?" she shouted in frustration.

After a moment of silent contemplation he left and shut the door behind him without another word.

James wasn't even sure what to say about what had just gone on in that uncomfortable three minutes. He forgot all about telling her he'd planned on proposing. "What was that about?"

She found she was afraid to tell him the truth. Afraid he'd think of her as one of Jack's hand-me-downs. Not only that, but she was saddled with a disgruntled teenager..

"Juliet?" he dared to ask. The look on her face was the look she had on in the jungle. She seemed ready to run away from him again.

And then it came out. So fast it was almost unable to be comprehended, and she most definitely left no time to stop herself. "I married Jack and we have a son.."

Silence.

Glass shattering, ear deafening silence.

And then he noticed her backing quickly away from him and scrambling to pull a shirt on. He was still at a loss for words, until he noticed the picture frame of her and a teenage boy on the wall. He slowly reached out, taking it into his hands and staring down at it. At the dark hair of Jack and the blue eyes of Juliet. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to be reacting. In this life he didn't have a child and she did.

"He.. looks like a great kid."

Juliet glanced up immediately and looked at him. "I won't say I'm sorry James, because.. I can never be sorry about my son."

"Didn't expect ya' too, Blondie.." he responded with a smile. "It ain't like we remembered nothin' before that vending machine.." he reminded her.

And the image of falling, of dying, crept into her mind and made her nausea worse. And the tears that crept down her face were there and she realized how much weaker she was in this lifetime. The memories were here, but her strength was not. She could hardly get to the bathroom across her office fast enough before she was face to seat with the toilet and emptying the contents of her stomach.

"Sonuvabitch.." he growled out and he quickly went in behind her, grabbing her hair back with one hand and rubbing her back with the other. He knew what made her throw up. The images of her falling, dying in his arms, or burying her in the middle of the jungle were still at the forefront of his brain. He couldn't erase them any better then she could erase the fact she died. And a moment later she was clinging to them. And she was flashing back to the summer '76. The time their relationship went from a relationship to actual love.

Except the positions were reverse. And his nausea was the outcome of drinking himself into oblivion the day of his parents' murder-suicide. He never forgot the way she sat there, rubbed his back, and then simply held him without judgment or critique. "I had a ring.." he told her. "I.. hid it under the floorboard in our bedroom.."

Through her tears she huffed out a laugh. "You're kidding.."

"Nope.." he admitted sheepishly.

"You wanted to marry me?" she asked him staring up at him in surprise.

He cupped her face between his hands. "I wanted..." he told her, and watched her eyes downcast at the past tense. "And I want to.."

Her eyes drifted up immediately. "You do?"

"Generally that statement comes during the wedding.. but yea', I do.."

Her head tilted to the side, her eyes watered further, and she nestled her head deep in the crook of his neck.

"I love you.." he told her, kissing her forehead.

"I.." she sniffled. And she felt stupid, because she didn't sniffle. "I.." and she couldn't say it. Couldn't do it. She had caused all of this pain in the first place. She didn't _deserve_ to end up with him. "I can't do this.." she told him. "I can't James.. I.. I don't deserve to have you."

And she was up. And running. And gone before he could comprehend it. "JULIET!" he yelled out immediately. He was up immediately after, following quickly.

It felt like the jungle chase in the previous life. She was trying to get away again. What about him could she _not_ deserve, other than his asshole tendencies? And what about _her_ did _he_ deserve? Her argument was completely ass-backwards. He watched as she quickly went by the Korean couple he had originally been here for- and he almost stopped. Sun and Jin. But he couldn't stop. If he stopped he would lose her. He couldn't lose her again.

Jin and Sun watched in shock as Juliet ran past them in tears. Jin almost wanted to follow the blonde, the memories of Sawyer holding her dead body fresh in his mind after seeing her. Of his and Sun's own death. She had been a friend.. a good one.

"Juliet! Dammit!"

He and Sun both stared, further shocked by James running past a moment later. "It.. reminds me of 1975 when he is trying to get in her pants.. tears were other way though. She played hard to get.."

Sun snorted.

He caught her hand before she even got ten feet past the two Koreans. "Stop, Juliet! Stop.."

She intended to turn, yank her hand away. Push him away.. something. But she froze. It was as though they were reliving their last fight with a whole new reason behind it.

"I wanna marry you, Juliet.." he told her, coming nose to nose with her. "I said I'd never get married but.. I wanna marry _you_.. I wanna do it all. The marriage.. the family.."

Her lips were quivering with new tears, ones she was refusing to let fall. Every single one of her co-workers were now staring at her in awe.

"You're the only one I want that with.. in this life, the next.. the last.." he told her. "Say somethin'.."

She couldn't find the words for a moment. And the silence throughout the hospital wasn't helping. All eyes were on them. "I.. love you back.." she mumbled, the response to his statement earlier _before_ she'd run for the hills.

"Marry me.." he said again. He had never expected to ever even say the words once let alone as many times as he'd now said it to her in the last ten minutes.

She was smiling a little, crying a little more, and attempting to nod her head. It all seemed like a terrible way to agree for her. And she covered it up by pulling his face to hers and letting her lips capture his. "Okay.." she said softly when she finally pulled away.

The clapping, cheering, it was all the reminder they needed to remember they were in a crowded hospital with people who had no idea she'd even been in a relationship let alone on the verge of getting engaged. "Let's do it now.."

"Now?" she said in shock.

"Right now," he said with a grin. "I don't wanna wait.."

The shock took the tears away. "We're in a hospital.." she mumbled, then chuckled.

They were contemplating that momentarily when the accented word came from their sides.

"Priest."

Both looked over as Sun and Jin pulled a man over.

"Is now good for you?" James questioned, grinning at her.

She looked down at herself, then back at him. "What the hell.. now seems like a perfect idea to me." She glanced at the man Jin had deemed a priest. "Are you really a priest?"

"Yes ma'am.." he assured her.

"Fan-freaking-tastic," James said with a grin. He grabbed hold of Juliet and kissed her once more. Now he could move on with some piece of mind. He got all he wanted. He got Juliet. For better, or worse. Til death do them part.

**Fin.**

**Hope you all enjoyed.**

**-Sarah**


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